The Search, Part I (episode)
Sisko takes an untested Starfleet warship into the Gamma Quadrant in an attempt to find the Founders of the Dominion. (Season Premiere) Summary Faced with a possible invasion by the Jem'Hadar, the soldiers of the Dominion, Benjamin Sisko gets an experimental vessel called the , a warship originally designed to fight the Borg and plans to travel into the Gamma Quadrant, locate the leaders of the Dominion, called "Founders", and explain the Federation's peaceful intent. T'Rul, a Romulan, comes with them to operate the cloaking device that the Romulan government has offered, so that the Defiant can travel unhindered – in exchange, the Romulans want a full accounting of the mission and its data. Lieutenant Commander Eddington of Starfleet Security is ordered to assume Odo's duties, which angers Odo and he resigns. Kira Nerys, in an attempt to make Odo feel wanted, tells him that the Bajoran government has requested his presence on the mission. It is a ruse he sees through, but Kira convinces him to come along anyway. Also, Sisko drops Grand Nagus Zek's name and coerces Quark into joining the mission because of his past dealings with the Karemma, a race living under Dominion rule. The Grand Nagus lends Sisko his staff to demonstrate his commitment to the endeavor. After entering the Gamma Quadrant and narrowly escaping detection, the crew bring aboard Ornithar, a Karemma official. Thanks to some persuasive negotiating from Quark, Ornithar reveals that a race called the Vorta directs all communications for the Dominion through a relay station on Callinon VII. Meanwhile, Odo strangely desires to travel toward the Omarion Nebula. With Quark's purpose on the mission fulfilled, Sisko allows him to return to the Alpha Quadrant. Sisko and Kira have a discussion about what Kira regards as Starfleet's poor treatment of Odo. Sisko replies that Odo is not a "team player" and that Starfleet likes team players. Sisko wants Odo to stay but he also understands Starfleet's position. If Odo wants to stay, he'll have to play by Starfleet's rules and learn to respect authority and the chain of command. The Defiant heads for the Callinon system. Upon arrival, Jadzia Dax and Miles O'Brien transport to an unmanned relay station. They discover where the Vorta's communications with the Founders are sent, and transmit those coordinates to Sisko. Before they can return to the ship, however, Jem'Hadar soldiers appear and take them prisoner. The Defiant is able to escape and heads for the new coordinates. When confronted by Kira Nerys, Odo confides in her his mysterious compulsion to travel to the Omarion Nebula. Before they can decide what to do, the Defiant is attacked by three Jem'Hadar warships. The Defiant suffers a considerable amount of damage and is boarded. Kira is shot and falls unconscious. She awakens in a shuttlecraft with Odo heading for the Omarion Nebula. Odo says he doesn't know what became of Sisko and Bashir. The last he saw of the Defiant, it was dead in space and surrounded by Jem'Hadar ships. Kira says that Odo should have taken the shuttle back to the wormhole when she was unconscious. Odo says she didn't complain at the time. Meanwhile, they find a "rogue", starless class M planet in the Omarion Nebula, and land on it. They find what appears to be a lake. Slowly, humanoid figures are formed from it and step forward, revealing that the lake is actually a large pool of Changelings. A final figure separates herself from the lake, takes on humanoid form, and tells Odo, "Welcome home". Background Information * This episode is the season premiere of the 3rd season, intended to be the continuation of and the first of a two-part series concluding with . * Jadzia Dax's new "up" hairstyle is unique to this episode and part 2. * This was the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to air with no other Trek series on television. First appearances * The [[USS Defiant (NX-74205)|USS Defiant (NX-74205)]]. * Salome Jens as the Female Changeling and Kenneth Marshall as Michael Eddington. * The Founders and their homeworld. * The Romulans (in the form of Subcommander T'Rul). * The new style combadge that was used up to and including . * Rene Auberjonois' slightly altered makeup and uniform. Links and References Main Cast *Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko *Rene Auberjonois as Odo *Siddig El Fadil as Julian Bashir *Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax *Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko *Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien *Armin Shimerman as Quark *Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys Guest Stars *Salome Jens as Female Changeling *Martha Hackett as T'Rul *John Fleck as Ornithar *Kenneth Marshall as Michael Eddington References African; antiproton beam (antiproton); beritium; Callinon system; Callinon VII; Changelings; cloaking device; ''Defiant'', USS; ; diamide; diraks; Dominion; escape pod; female Changeling; Ferengi; Grand Nagus; Jem'Hadar; Karemma; ODN matrix; outpost; phase inducer; Romulan Star Empire; subcommander; subspace variance; transporter; Tulaberry wine; Type-18 shuttlepod; Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards; Vorta; Yoruba mask; Zek External links * * |next= }} Search, The, Part I de:Die Suche, Teil I es:The Search, Part I fr:The Search, Part I nl:The Search, Deel I